I would try the grasshoppers.
*A three-run double from Evan Gattis sparked a rally that saw the Astros bat around for the first time this season, this time it all happened with two outs! The 14 hits were a season high, as were the seven runs. It's the first win of the season in which the Astros have allowed five runs. After starting the season 8x48 w/RISP, the Astros were 7x13 last night.
*A.J. Hinch:
We did swing the bat a lot better, especially in the inning when we had two outs and nobody on. We ended up with six straight base runners, a couple of walks in there, couple of fortunate hits, a couple of bullets. We have a good offense.
*George Springer hit his 4th leadoff homer of the season, but he's not trying to:
I'm honestly just trying to hit the ball hard and trying to get to first base. I know who's behind me. So if I get to first base, that's my plan.
*No, Hinch is not moving Springer out of the lead-off spot.
Altuve:
I feel I'm in love with him, the way he plays. What else can I say about him?
*Danny Knobler: Springer is ready to be a superstar.
*FanGraphs: Maybe the Astros need a 1B
*Also FanGraphs: George Springer is more valuable than ever
*A.J. Hinch is at the top of Stanford's wish list. Hinch is flattered, yet uninterested:
I want to be the Astros manager here for a really long time, and while it's flattering when your name gets bantered around at a place that's very special, it's really a non-story.
*See below for the results, but Forrest Whitley has been studying Roger Clemens.
On The Farm
Fresno had three position players pitch last night against Las Vegas, so you can guess how that game went. Oh, they lost 21-6, after the Grizzlies couldn't get the two-point conversion to make it a two-possession game. Tony Kemp is hitting .450 after another 2-hit night. Preston Tucker got two hits. Former-and-now-current farmhand David Martinez gave up 6ER, Jared Mortensen gave up 5ER - two errors leading to four unearned runs.
Corpus allowed NW Arkansas to put up a 7-run 2nd inning on their way to a 12-3 loss. Cy Sneed allowed 7H/6ER in 1.1IP; Ryan Thompson allowed four runs (1ER) as the Hooks made five errors on the night. Jacob Dorris gave up 5H/1ER in 3IP.
Buies Creek took their first L of the season with a 7-3 loss to Myrtle Beach. Elieser Hernandez allowed 5ER in 3.2IP; Andrew Thome threw 3.1IP, 2H/0ER, 2K:1BB. Myles Straw, Ryne Birk, and Arturo Michelena had two hits each.
Quad Cities played a double-header against Peoria last night due to the rainout of Monday's game. In Game 1, 2016 #1 overall pick got his first full-season win, throwing 5IP, 1H/0ER, 6K:2BB. Daz Cameron had two hits. Quad Cities lost Game 2, 3-2, on a walk-off.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Stanford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stanford. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Monday, June 21, 2010
Is Stanford to blame for the reason Castro doesn't hit for power?
Jason Grey's Insider-only take on Jason Castro and Chris Johnson has a very interesting note about why, despite being a pretty big guy, Castro hasn't done much slugging:
I've written before about the issues many longtime scouts have with the hitting philosophy at Stanford, which preaches a flat, contact-oriented swing. Those scouts feel that approach doesn't help players hit with authority at the next level, and they would certainly point to Castro as an example. Castro has a short swing, but his bat speed is just average, and it doesn't help that his best power is to straightaway center. He could be good for 15 homers a year eventually, but that's likely well down the road. He also must show he's not going to wear down as the season progresses, which was what happened last year.
It's a very in-depth, very well-written article on both Castro and Johnson.
I haven't heard of Stanford products having trouble translating to the Majors. So let's look.
*Since 2000, 70 players have been drafted out of Stanford.
*Of these 70, 42 have been position players.
*Only one of these players - of course until tomorrow night - drafted since 2006 has made it to a major-league roster: RHP Drew Storen. So if we look at the period between 2000-2006, we're talking about 27 position players drafted by Major League teams. 13 of them have made it to the Majors.
*The position player with the highest WAR is Carlos Quentin (5.5 WAR), drafted in 2003. But of the other 12, four of them have a career WAR above 0.0 (Ryan Garko: 2.1; Sam Fuld: 0.6; Chris Carter: 0.1; Jed Lowrie: 1.5
*This is but a quick look, and it's entirely possible that I did a count including guys drafted twice. So take this for what it's worth (meaning, "probably not much.")
I've written before about the issues many longtime scouts have with the hitting philosophy at Stanford, which preaches a flat, contact-oriented swing. Those scouts feel that approach doesn't help players hit with authority at the next level, and they would certainly point to Castro as an example. Castro has a short swing, but his bat speed is just average, and it doesn't help that his best power is to straightaway center. He could be good for 15 homers a year eventually, but that's likely well down the road. He also must show he's not going to wear down as the season progresses, which was what happened last year.
It's a very in-depth, very well-written article on both Castro and Johnson.
I haven't heard of Stanford products having trouble translating to the Majors. So let's look.
*Since 2000, 70 players have been drafted out of Stanford.
*Of these 70, 42 have been position players.
*Only one of these players - of course until tomorrow night - drafted since 2006 has made it to a major-league roster: RHP Drew Storen. So if we look at the period between 2000-2006, we're talking about 27 position players drafted by Major League teams. 13 of them have made it to the Majors.
*The position player with the highest WAR is Carlos Quentin (5.5 WAR), drafted in 2003. But of the other 12, four of them have a career WAR above 0.0 (Ryan Garko: 2.1; Sam Fuld: 0.6; Chris Carter: 0.1; Jed Lowrie: 1.5
*This is but a quick look, and it's entirely possible that I did a count including guys drafted twice. So take this for what it's worth (meaning, "probably not much.")
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